The invention relates generally to an inspection and sorting system and method for part repair and, more particularly, to an inspection and sorting system and method for turbine blade repair.
Turbine blades are subjected to wear and damage during use necessitating their repair. Blade repair is generally both expensive and time consuming, involving extensive cleaning, grinding, welding, reshaping, finishing, and coating steps. Currently, repair operations begin with subjective observations by an operator as to the nature and the extent of the repair needed. Incomplete information at the initial inspection stage can lead to extensive rework, incomplete repair, or repair work being performed on irreparable parts. For example, extensive repairs might be made to a turbine blade requiring little rework, expending considerable unnecessary labor at a significant cost, based on the inspector""s overestimation of the damage to the blade. Alternatively, time consuming repair processes might be performed on an extensively damaged turbine blade that the inspector incorrectly determined to be repairable. The latter scenario is particularly costly as several days of labor can be squandered on a scrap turbine blade.
In addition, current inspection processes exhibit operator variability based on both the operator""s experience and subjective judgment. Not only is the initial inspection of the turbine blade subject to operator error, but the decision as to whether the turbine blade can and should be repaired is also subjective. This subjectivity produces inconsistent decision making both between different operators at a given repair facility and between different facilities, and can result, for example, in the refusal to repair all but the most minimally damaged turbine blades at one repair facility. Alternatively, another repair facility might attempt to repair even excessively damaged turbine blades. While the former repair facility foregoes realizable profits by neglecting to repair repairable turbine blades, the latter repair facility accrues avoidable losses by attempting to repair turbine blades that are either beyond repair or that only can be repaired at a loss.
An additional problem with current inspection processes for turbine blade repair is that inspection is generally limited to before and after the repair process. For example, initial and final visual inspections are performed before and after the repair process. The initial and final inspections may also be supplemented by fluorescent penetrant inspection to detect cracks in the coatings on the turbine blade and to confirm their removal, respectively. However, inspections are not generally performed during the often lengthy repair process. Consequently, current inspection processes fail to detect damage to the turbine blade caused by repair steps, such as grinding. Thus, under current practices a turbine blade damaged beyond repair by grinding will be processed to completion, producing a scrap turbine blade at significant labor and time costs.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an inspection and sorting system and method for turbine blade repair that would replace the current subjective observations with a quantitative assessment of the nature and the extent of the repair needed. It would further be desirable for the inspection and sorting system and method to replace the subjective decision making process as to whether a turbine blade should or should not be repaired with an objective process based on both the damage to the turbine blade and the anticipated cost of the repair. In addition, it would be desirable for the inspection and sorting system and method to monitor the turbine blade at different stages throughout the repair process to assess the likelihood and cost of repairing the turbine blade.
Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an inspection and sorting system for part repair includes at least one sensor for inspecting a part. The sensor is configured to obtain inspection data for the part. The inspection and sorting system further includes a comparison module configured to receive the inspection data, to generate a repair profile for the part using the inspection data, and to compare the repair profile with a baseline to arrive at a repair recommendation for the part.
In accordance with another embodiment, a method is disclosed and includes inspecting a part with at least one sensor to obtain preliminary inspection data for the part. The method further includes generating a preliminary repair profile from the preliminary inspection data, comparing the preliminary repair profile with a baseline, and arriving at a repair recommendation for the part based on the comparison.